Blockchain enabled transaction processing for an industrial asset supply chain

ABSTRACT

Some embodiments provide a system to facilitate transaction processing associated with an industrial asset supply chain having a first entity and a second entity. A first entity computer processor may retrieve, from a first entity database, information associated with pre-delivery data about the industrial asset. The first entity computer processor may then record pre-delivery data about the industrial asset via a secure, distributed transaction ledger. A second entity computer processor may retrieve, from a second entity database, information associated with a post-delivery event involving the industrial asset. The second entity computer processor may then record post-delivery event data about the industrial asset via a secure, distributed transaction ledger. The post-delivery event data might indicate, for example, that the industrial asset has been delivered, has been installed, is working properly, has been used, etc.

BACKGROUND

Some embodiments disclosed herein relate to industrial assets and, moreparticularly, to blockchain enabled transaction processing for a supplychain.

One type of business process management system relates to organizingsupplies used by a business entity (e.g., a corporation) formanufacturing and delivering goods and/or services. The organization andmanagement of supplies is often referred to as a “supply chain.” Asupply chain comprises a system of organizations, people, activities,information, actors, resources, etc. (referred to herein as “entities”)associated with the manufacture and delivery of a product or servicefrom a supplier to a customer and/or user. Because a supply chain canencompass a complex set of resources from around the globe, a supplychain entity may have only a limited ability to transfer risksassociated with the supply chain. An entity's failure to allocate risksand opportunities to drive cost reduction and revenue growth may havesignificant impact on an organization's ability to deliver a good orservice and remain profitable.

In a global economy, a supply chain entity may face challenges relatingto allocating material globally, such as figuring out where to placeinventory so it is best located for upcoming demand. Similarly, anentity may experience defects in the supply chain which may not beimmediately noticeable and may also be difficult to validate. To improvethe exchange of information between various entities of a supply chain,a centralized system, managed by a trusted organization or consortium,might be implemented. These types of systems may require that criticalbusiness information either pass through or be stored at a location thatis under the centralized system's control. In addition, a mechanism isrequired to establish user identity and this information is alsocommonly stored centrally. Because these types of systems are socentralized, they may be susceptible to multiple types of failures orattacks, such as concentrated and/or persistent cyber-attacks.

Due to the complexity of managing an extended supply chain of physicalflows (e.g., parts, products, and processes), information flows (e.g.,events and statuses), and/or contractual/financial flows (e.g. purchaseorder requests and contracts) with current technologies of disintegratedsystems and paper-based processes, it may be difficult and costly todesign a system to process supply chain transactions. Transactionaltools might be implemented individually to implement manual processes,but such an approach may be impractical and inefficient. It wouldtherefore be desirable to provide systems and methods to efficiently andsecurely manage transactions for supply chain entities.

SUMMARY

Some embodiments provide a system to facilitate transaction processingassociated with an industrial asset supply chain having a first entityand a second entity. A first entity computer processor may retrieve,from a first entity database, information associated with pre-deliverydata about the industrial asset. The first entity computer processor maythen record pre-delivery data about the industrial asset via a secure,distributed transaction ledger. A second entity computer processor mayretrieve, from a second entity database, information associated with apost-delivery event involving the industrial asset. The second entitycomputer processor may then record post-delivery event data about theindustrial asset via a secure, distributed transaction ledger. Thepost-delivery event data might indicate, for example, that theindustrial asset has been delivered, has been installed, is workingproperly, has been used, etc.

Some embodiments comprise: means for retrieving, by a first entitycomputer processor from a first entity database, electronic recordsincluding information associated with pre-delivery data about theindustrial asset; means for recording, by the first entity computerprocessor, pre-delivery data about the industrial asset via a secure,distributed transaction ledger; means for retrieving, by a second entitycomputer processor from a second entity database, electronic recordsincluding information associated with a post-delivery event involvingthe industrial asset; and means for recording, by the second entitycomputer processor, post-delivery event data about the industrial assetvia the secure, distributed transaction ledger.

Technical effects of some embodiments of the invention are improved waysto efficiently and securely manage transactions for supply chainentities. With these and other advantages and features that will becomehereinafter apparent, a more complete understanding of the nature of theinvention can be obtained by referring to the following detaileddescription and to the drawings appended hereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram of a supply chain.

FIG. 2 is a high-level block diagram of a system according to someembodiments.

FIG. 3 is a method that may be associated with first and second supplychain entity platforms in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates elements of a supply chain in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 5 is a system implementing blockchain enabled supply chaininformation sharing with blockchain validation according to someembodiments.

FIG. 6 is a system implementing blockchain enabled supply chaininformation sharing with multiple digital transaction engines inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a blockchain enabled supply chain transaction processingdisplay according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a more detailed view of a supply chain in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 9 is another detailed view of a supply chain in accordance withanother embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates a platform according to some embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a portion of a tabular industrial asset database inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 12 is a method to incorporate blockchain enabled transactionprocessing into a contractual agreement according to some embodiments.

FIG. 13 is contractual agreement display in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 14 is a distributed transaction ledger reference architectureaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 15 illustrates a tablet computer providing a display according tosome embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments.However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the artthat the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. Inother instances, well-known methods, procedures, components and circuitshave not been described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments.

One or more specific embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed below. In an effort to provide a concise description of theseembodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not bedescribed in the specification. It should be appreciated that in thedevelopment of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering ordesign project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be madeto achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance withsystem-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from oneimplementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that sucha development effort might be complex and time consuming, but wouldnevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, andmanufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of thisdisclosure.

It may generally be desirable to efficiently and securely managetransactions for supply chain entities. As used herein, the phrase“supply chain” might be associated with, for example, a sequence ofprocesses and/or entities involved in a production and/or distributionof a commodity (such as an industrial asset component or part). FIG. 1is a high-level block diagram of a typical supply chain 100. The supplychain 100 includes suppliers 110 that may provide components or rawmaterials to a manufacturer 120 which might be tracked via purchaseorders transmitted via facsimiles. The manufacturer 120 may fabricate anindustrial asset and arrange for delivery/installation 140 via adistributor 130. These supply chain steps might involve exchangingElectronic Data Interchange (“EDI”) files, emailed shippingnotifications, signed delivery receipts, etc. Eventually, a customer 150will receive the industrial asset (e.g., “in the field”) and, in somecases, arrange for the asset to be used by a user 160 (e.g., a doctormight use an Magnetic Resonance Imaging (“MRI”) machine and send aninvoice to a patient via postal mail).

Because many different ways are used to exchange information in thesupply chain 100, it can be difficult to process transactions increative or more efficient ways. Note that current supplier-buyerrelationships are characterized in part by the payment terms agreed uponbetween suppliers and customers. These payment terms are usuallydependent upon the timing of the receipt of goods or services from thesupplier, as defined by the supplier and buyer. These payment termsdefine the financial flow within a complex supply chain and may bedependent upon the information flow about the receipt of the good orservice. The relative simplicity of these payment terms (dependent uponthe receipt and terms of the contract) can create a misalignment ofphysical flow, information flow, and/or financial flow within a supplychain. For example, it may be that payment can only be remitted basedupon the receipt of the good, not the point at which the good is used,e.g., the assembly point, the date of asset deployment, or the date ofasset commissioning. Furthermore, no decentralized method for enablingbuyer-supplier payments based upon the use of an asset in the fieldexists (nor does the ability to securitize these payments).

To reduce such problems, a supply chain system 200 includes a firstentity platform 210 with a communication port to exchange informationwith a first entity database 212 (e.g., containing information about anindustrial asset). Similarly, a second entity platform 250 may have acommunication port to exchange information with a second entity database252. The second entity database 252 might include, for example,electronic data records associated with industrial asset events 254,including an asset identifier 256, an event type 258, a date and time ofthe event, etc. By way of an example only, the first entity platform 210might be associated with a supplier or manufacturer while the secondentity platform 250 might be associated with a customer or user.

According to some embodiments, the first entity platform 210 recordspre-delivery data in a secure, distributed transaction ledger 290. Forexample, the first entity platform 210 might record one or more of anorder date and time, a price, an industrial asset item location, or thelike via the secure, distributed transaction ledger 290 in accordancewith any of the embodiments described herein. The second entity platform250 records post-delivery events (e.g., in indication that an industrialasset has been installed or used) in the secure, distributed transactionledger 290. The transaction ledger 290 might be associated with, forexample, blockchain technology that can be verified via a remoteoperator or administrator device 270. According to some embodiments, thedistributed transaction ledger might be associated with the HYPERLEDGER®blockchain verification system. Note that the platforms 210, 250 couldbe completely de-centralized and/or might be associated with a thirdparty, such as a vendor that performs a service for an enterprise.According to some embodiments the first and second entity platforms 210,250 may also exchange information with each other directly (asillustrated by the dotted arrow in FIG. 2).

The first entity platform 210 and/or second entity platform 250 mightbe, for example, associated with a Personal Computer (“PC”), laptopcomputer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, an enterprise server, aserver farm, and/or a database or other storage devices. According tosome embodiments, an “automated” first entity platform 210 mayautomatically record supply chain information in the transaction ledger290 via a blockchain verification process. As used herein, the term“automated” may refer to, for example, actions that can be performedwith little (or no) intervention by a human.

As used herein, devices, including those associated with the firstentity platform 210 and any other device described herein, may exchangeinformation via any communication network which may be one or more of aLocal Area Network (“LAN”), a Metropolitan Area Network (“MAN”), a WideArea Network (“WAN”), a proprietary network, a Public Switched TelephoneNetwork (“PSTN”), a Wireless Application Protocol (“WAP”) network, aBluetooth network, a wireless LAN network, and/or an Internet Protocol(“IP”) network such as the Internet, an intranet, or an extranet. Notethat any devices described herein may communicate via one or more suchcommunication networks.

The platforms 210, 250 may store information into and/or retrieveinformation from data stores. The data stores might, for example, storeelectronic records representing prior transactions, transactionscurrently in process, digital events, etc. The data stores may belocally stored or reside remote from the platforms 210, 250. Although asingle first entity platform 210 and second entity platform 250 areshown in FIG. 2, any number of such devices may be included. Moreover,various devices described herein might be combined according toembodiments of the present invention. For example, in some embodiments,the first entity platform 210, first entity database 212, and/or otherdevices might be co-located and/or may comprise a single apparatus.

Note that the system 200 of FIG. 2 is provided only as an example, andembodiments may be associated with additional elements or components.According to some embodiments, the elements of the system 200 provideblockchain enabled supply chain transaction information processing. Forexample, FIG. 3 illustrates a method that might be performed by thesystem 200 described with respect to FIG. 2, or any other system,according to some embodiments of the present invention. The flow chartsdescribed herein do not imply a fixed order to the steps, andembodiments of the present invention may be practiced in any order thatis practicable. Note that any of the methods described herein may beperformed by hardware, software, or any combination of these approaches.For example, a computer-readable storage medium may store thereoninstructions that when executed by a machine result in performanceaccording to any of the embodiments described herein.

The method of FIG. 3 may be associated with an industrial asset, such asan engine, an aircraft, a locomotive, power generation, a wind turbine,a medical device, farming equipment, an autonomous vehicle, additivemanufacturing, an unmanned aerial vehicle, etc. Moreover, the method isassociated with a supply chain, such as a local supply chain, aninternational supply chain, a global supply chain, etc. At S310, a firstentity computer processor may retrieve, from a first entity database,electronic records including information associated with pre-deliverydata about the industrial asset. The first entity might be associatedwith, for example, a component supplier, a manufacturer of theindustrial asset, a distributor, etc.

At S320, the first entity computer processor may record pre-deliverydata about the industrial asset via a secure, distributed transactionledger. According to some embodiments, the secure, distributedtransaction ledger comprises blockchain technology that is controlled bya single, centralized entity or by multiple, distributed entities.

At S330, a second entity computer processor may retrieve, from a secondentity database, electronic records including information associatedwith a post-delivery “event” involving the industrial asset. The secondentity might be associated with, for example, a delivery entity, aninstaller entity, a customer, a user of the industrial asset, etc. Asused herein, the term “event” may refer to any action or change in stateassociated with an industrial asset. Examples of events might includeindications that the industrial asset has been delivered, the industrialasset has been installed, the industrial asset is working properly, theindustrial asset has been used, etc.

At S340, the second entity computer processor may record post-deliveryevent data about the industrial asset via the secure, distributedtransaction ledger. Note that the secure, distributed transaction ledgermay store various types of information associated with an industrialasset, including quality information, delivery information, missioncritical information, physical location data, product quality orquantity information, material quality information, inspectioninformation, a price of a good, a price of a service, contractualcommitment data, delivery conditions, shipping information, a blockchainenabled smart contract, etc.

In this way, the risks and costs associated with a supply chain may beallocated in various creative or more efficient ways. For example, asupplier might only be paid for a component after a completed industrialasset is installed and working for a customer. In general, someembodiments may allow for the creation of new payment structures usingdistributed transaction ledgers (e.g., blockchains), enabling verifiedpayment remittances based on digitally-verifiable events (e.g., receipt,installation, assembly, commissioning, service rendering or usage) andsecuritization structures may be created from these payment remittancesto dynamically change the financial structure of a supply chainconsistent with physical transactions in the supply chain. Moreover,some embodiments may enable new contractual and financial relationshipsacross an extended supply chain.

For example, FIG. 4 illustrates a supply chain 400 according to someembodiments. The supply chain 400 includes a manufacture 420 of anindustrial item (e.g., a gas turbine engine) that is provided to acustomer 450 via a distributor 430 and/or a delivery/installationservice 440. According to this embodiment, the supply chain 400 includesa pre-delivery portion (e.g., including a manufacturer 420 of the asset)and a post-delivery portion (e.g., including an ultimate customer 450).By recording information into a secure, distributed transaction ledger490, the supply chain 400 can arrange to allocate risks and costs invarious ways. For example, the manufacture 420 of a jet engine might notreceive any payment (or a reduced payment) when an airplane is deliveredto an airline but instead be paid on a per-mile basis as the airplane isflown. According to some embodiments, a transaction prediction and/orcompilation platform 480 may be associated with the distributedtransaction ledger 490 and/or other supply chain entities to facilitatesuch an arrangement (e.g., by tracking flown miles and transferring apayment to the jet engine manufacturer on a yearly basis). Note that themanufacturers 420, distributor 430, delivery/installation service 440,and/or customers 450 may also exchange information with each otherdirectly (e.g., as illustrated by the dotted arrows in FIG. 4).

FIG. 5 is a system 500 implementing supply chain informationincorporating blockchain validation according to some embodiments. Acloud-based integrity monitor 510 may provide transaction integrity datavia a web browser and exchange information with a blockchain 520 and adigital transaction engine 550 via Representational State Transfer(“REST”) web services. The REST web services may, for example, provideinteroperability between computer systems on the Internet (e.g., byallowing requesting systems to access and manipulate textualrepresentations of web resources using a uniform, predefined set ofstateless operations). According to some embodiments, portions of thedigital transaction engine 550 may be associated with a MySQL or Oracle®database. In this way, the digital transaction engine 550 and blockchain520 can be used to provide transaction level verification for a client540 (e.g., a supply chain entity). Although FIG. 5 illustrates a system500 with a single blockchain 520 and digital transaction engine 550,note that embodiments may employ other topologies. For example, FIG. 6is a system 600 implementing supply chain information sharingincorporating multiple digital transaction engines in accordance withsome embodiments. In particular, an additional blockchain 622 anddigital transaction engine 652 may provide protection for an additionalclient 642. As illustrated in FIG. 6, each digital transaction engine650, 652 may be associated with multiple blockchains 620, 622 providingadditional protection for the system 600 (e.g., by storing informationat multiple, geographically disperse nodes making cyber-attacksimpractical). That is, each verifier (e.g., digital transaction engine)may commit a brief summary to an independent data store and, oncerecorded, the information cannot be changed without detection to providea tamper-proof System of Records (“SoR”).

FIG. 7 illustrates a computer display 700 in accordance with someembodiments. The display 700 includes a graphical representation 710 ofa supply chain such that a user may select elements of the supply chain(e.g., via a computer mouse pointer 720 or touchscreen) to see furtherinformation and/or adjust details about that element (e.g., via a pop-upwindow). According to some embodiments, the display 700 includes one ormore selectable icons 730 that can be used to update a supply chain,export or import data, save files, publish information, perform ablockchain validation, etc.

Thus, embodiments may provide blockchain enabled transaction informationprocessing and sharing in a distributed supply chain. As illustrated bythe supply chain 400 of FIG. 4, business partners across a globallydistributed, multi-echelon supply chain may exchange information via atransaction ledger 490. Enabled by the secure, distributed transactionledger, such as one associated with block-chain technology, embodimentsdescribed herein may enable companies to share business informationacross a trusted network.

Through a distributed blockchain network controlled by one, few, or manyparticipants (e.g., an industry consortium), a collaborative systemacross a local or global supply chain may enable companies andindividuals to participate in a flexible and trustworthy system. Forexample, a supplier of sensor components to an industrial customer mightdecide to assume all liability for future sensor failures. Byparticipating in the network, both the supplier and customer may knowthat the information will be trustworthy. Moreover, the informationmight only be shared with the company and/or individual who need toknow. Because the system can be configured to fit individual use cases,the need to sharing large chunks of data (when just a few data pointsare needed) may be reduced.

For information that is repetitive and/or needs to be updated and sharedon a regular basis, the system may be configured and connected tospecific locations (e.g., associated with databases, computers, etc.) atnetwork participant sites. Validation information, such as locationdata, database information, computer information, etc., might beautomatically accessed and entered into the information chain (andvalidated if needed by a trusted human owner/sender of the information).According to some embodiments, this information may be used to create a“digital fingerprint” to be added to the information, thus increasing auser's level of trust.

According to some embodiments, the blockchain enabled exchange ofinformation between supply chain entities may be associated with asupplier Line Of Balance (“LOB”) process. A LOB process may beassociated with a repetitive process that exists within a contract'swork scope and the manufacturing and assembly of parts in the factory. ALOB may comprise a management control process for collecting, measuringand presenting facts relating to time, cost and accomplishment which mayall be measured against a specific plan.

In some embodiments, the blockchain enabled exchange of supply chaininformation may indicate that there is a high probability that each ofthe actors will timely deliver their respective goods or services. Forexample, an output of a LOB process might illustrate a status, abackground, timing and phasing of project activities, and thus the LOBmay provide management with measuring tools to (i) compare actualprogress with an objective plan, (ii) examine any deviations from theobjective plan (as well as gauging their degree of severity with respectto the remainder of the project), (iii) indicate areas where appropriatecorrective action is required and/or (iv) forecast future performance.The blockchain enabled exchange of supply chain information may also beassociated with extra costs that will occur when an actor is not timelyand potentially misses a delivery date. The blockchain enabled exchangeof supply chain information may be associated with constraints such asif a supplier can't build his goods, the supplier can't ship his goodsand there may be financial repercussions associated with missing adelivery date. Unlike manual methods, the present embodiments mayautomatically facilitate (e.g., a technical effect) the optimization ofsupply chain functionality as various actors change component dataand/or when there is a change in the various actors.

With dozens or hundreds of individual systems and smaller pointsolutions, companies would be left to manually handle critical businessinformation with their hundreds or thousands of business partners.Enabled by block-chain technology, embodiments described herein may helpcompanies share and retrieve business information across a trustednetwork allowing for creative ways to allocate costs, risks, etc. Whilefocusing on the information sharing and processing, note thatembodiments are not limited to any particular type of business data(e.g., the tracking of physical goods). Rather, embodiments may providefor the sharing of any supply chain information across the globalnetworks—including quality information of products and materials, pricesof goods and services, contractual commitments, delivery conditions,shipping information, etc.

Note that the supply chain 400 provided in FIG. 4 is only one example,and embodiments may be associated with any other number ofconfigurations. For example, FIG. 8 is a more detailed view of a supplychain 800 in accordance with some embodiments. As before, the supplychain 800 includes a manufacture 820 of an industrial item (e.g., a farmtractor) that is provided to a customer 850 via a distributor 830 and/ora delivery/installation service 840. Moreover, suppliers 810 may providecomponents (e.g., engines, tires, blades, etc.) to the manufacturer 820.The supply chain 800 includes a pre-delivery portion (e.g., including amanufacturer 820 of the tractor) and a post-delivery portion (e.g.,including the farmer or customer 850). By recording information into asecure, distributed transaction ledger 890, the supplier 810 andcustomers 850 can arrange to allocate risks and costs in various ways.For example, the supplier 810 of tractor blades might not receivepayment until a farmer (customer 850) begins using a tractor with thoseblades. Note that the suppliers 810, manufacturers 820, distributor 830,delivery/installation service 840, and/or customers 850 may alsoexchange information with each other directly (e.g., as illustrated bythe dotted arrows in FIG. 8).

FIG. 9 is another detailed view of a supply chain 900 in accordance withanother embodiment. As before, the supply chain 900 includes amanufacture 920 of an industrial item (e.g., an X-ray machine) that isprovided to a customer 950 via a distributor 930 and/or adelivery/installation service 940. Moreover, suppliers 910 may providecomponents to the manufacturer 920. The supply chain 900 includes apre-delivery portion (e.g., including a manufacturer 920 and distributor930 of the X-ray machine) and a post-delivery portion (e.g., including ahospital or customer 950 and users 960 such as doctors or patients). Byrecording information into a secure, distributed transaction ledger 990,the supplier 910 and customers 950 or users 960 can arrange to allocaterisks and costs in various ways. For example, the supplier 910 of anX-ray machine component (e.g., a software application) might receivepayments every time the X-ray machine is used, a patient is billed, etc.Note that the suppliers 910, manufacturers 920, distributor 930,delivery/installation service 940, customers 950, and/or users 960 mayalso exchange information with each other directly (e.g., as illustratedby the dotted arrows in FIG. 9).

Embodiments described herein may comprise a tool to help shareinformation among supply chain entities and may be implemented using anynumber of different hardware configurations. For example, FIG. 10illustrates a platform 1000 that may be, for example, associated withthe supply chain entity platforms 210, 250 of FIG. 2 (as well as othersystems described herein). The platform 1000 comprises a processor 1010,such as one or more commercially available Central Processing Units(“CPUs”) in the form of one-chip microprocessors, coupled to acommunication device 1020 configured to communicate via a communicationnetwork (not shown in FIG. 10). The communication device 1020 may beused to communicate, for example, with one or more remote platformsand/or a ledger. Note that communications exchanged via thecommunication device 1020 may utilize security features, such as thosebetween a public internet user and an internal network of an insuranceenterprise. The security features might be associated with, for example,web servers, firewalls, and/or Public Key Infrastructure (“PKI”)devices. The platform 1000 further includes an input device 1040 (e.g.,a mouse and/or keyboard to enter information about a distributedtransaction ledger, a business relationship, etc.) and an output device1050 (e.g., to output usage reports, arrange for a transfer funds,etc.).

The processor 1010 also communicates with a storage device 1030. Thestorage device 1030 may comprise any appropriate information storagedevice, including combinations of magnetic storage devices (e.g., a harddisk drive), optical storage devices, mobile telephones, and/orsemiconductor memory devices. The storage device 1030 stores a program1012 and a transaction processing engine for controlling the processor1010. The processor 1010 performs instructions of the programs 1012,1014, and thereby operates in accordance with any of the embodimentsdescribed herein. For example, the processor 1010 may provide a systemto facilitate transaction processing associated with an industrial assetsupply chain having a first entity and a second entity. The processor1010 may retrieve, from a first entity database, information associatedwith pre-delivery data about the industrial asset. The processor 1010may then record pre-delivery data about the industrial asset via asecure, distributed transaction ledger. When the platform 1000 isassociated with another entity, the processor 1010 may retrieve, from asecond entity database, information associated with a post-deliveryevent involving the industrial asset. The processor 1010 may then recordpost-delivery event data about the industrial asset via a secure,distributed transaction ledger. The post-delivery event data mightindicate, for example, that the industrial asset has been delivered, hasbeen installed, is working properly, has been used, etc.

The program 1012 may be stored in a compressed, compiled, uncompiledand/or encrypted format. The program 1012 may furthermore include otherprogram elements, such as an operating system, a database managementsystem, and/or device drivers used by the processor 1010 to interfacewith peripheral devices.

As used herein, information may be “received” by or “transmitted” to,for example: (i) the platform 1000 from another device; or (ii) asoftware application or module within the platform 1000 from anothersoftware application, module, or any other source.

In some embodiments (such as shown in FIG. 10), the storage device 1030further stores an industrial asset database 1100. An example of adatabase that might be used in connection with the platform 1000 willnow be described in detail with respect to FIG. 11. Note that thedatabase described herein is only an example, and additional and/ordifferent information may be stored therein. Moreover, various databasesmight be split or combined in accordance with any of the embodimentsdescribed herein. For example, the industrial asset database 1100 mightbe combined with and/or linked to the program 1012.

Referring to FIG. 11, a table is shown that represents the industrialasset database 1100 that may be stored at the platform 1000 inaccordance with some embodiments. The table may include, for example,entries identifying industrial assets distributed via a supply chain.The table may also define fields 1102, 1104, 1106, 1108, 1110, 1112,1114 for each of the entries. The fields 1102, 1104, 1106, 1108, 1110,1112, 1114 may, according to some embodiments, specify: an industrialasset identifier 1102, an industrial asset description 1104, an eventidentifier 1106, an event type 1108, a date and time 1110, a contractresult 1112, and an indication of whether or not the event was recordedvia a blockchain transaction ledger. The industrial asset database 1100may be created and updated, for example, based on informationelectrically received from remote customer platforms, additive orsubtractive manufacturer platforms, and/or distributed transactionledger devices.

The industrial asset identifier 1102 may be, for example, a uniquealphanumeric code identifying an asset distributed via a supply chainand the industrial asset description 1104 may describe the asset (e.g.,as being a wind turbine, drone inspection, etc.). The event identifier1006 may be a unique alphanumeric code identifying an event associatedwith the asset (e.g., a change in state or status), the event type 1108might explain what the event means (e.g., an asset has been delivered orused), and the date and time 1110 might reflect when the event occurred.The contract result 1112 might indicate, for example, that funds need tobe paid as a result of occurrence of the event. The recording inblockchain indication might indicate that the event was (or was not)recorded, that recordation is pending, etc.

FIG. 12 is a method to incorporate blockchain enabled transactionprocessing into a contractual agreement according to some embodiments.Note that embodiments may provide supply chain participants (suppliers,original equipment manufacturers, service providers, customers, etc.) anability to rapidly reconfigure financial and contractual arrangements ofa supply chain and access new ways of financing the manufacture,delivery, and operation of equipment. Embodiments may leverage thedecentralized validation of digitally-verifiable events usingdistributed transaction ledgers to change the contractual methods bywhich suppliers are remitted payment for goods or services provided toan Original Equipment Manufacturer (“OEM”) or end customer. Whenproperly configured, these contractual methods may help reduce or avoidthe agency problems inherent in a supply chain that is limited byinflexible payment terms. The independent and decentralized validationof these digitally-verifiable events may enable many differentcontractual arrangements including:

blockchain-enabled verification of receipt of material (e.g., a widgetarrived) triggering payment to suppliers by OEMs, investors, and/orother financing participants;

blockchain-enabled verification of material assembly point (e.g., awidget installed) triggering payment to supplier by an OEM, investors,and/or other financing participants;

blockchain-enabled verification of asset deployment (e.g., awidget-in-the-field) triggering payment to suppliers, OEMs, investors,and/or other financing participants;

blockchain-enabled verification of asset commissioning (e.g., awidget-working-in-the-field) triggering payments to suppliers, OEMs,investors, and/or other financing participants;

blockchain-enabled verification of asset usage triggering pay-on-use tosupplier or OEM (e.g., a widget-being-used-in-the-field), in effectcreating an event-based capital lease with event-based, time-based,and/or schedule-based payments to OEMs, suppliers, investors, and/orother financing participants;

blockchain-enabled factoring and securitization of payments, eitherbased on pay-on-use from end customers or other upstream tollgates withautomatic triggers based on component life limits or reliability issuestied to specific supplier issues and the blending of various types ofpayments into a market-available security;

blockchain-enabled pass-through value chain financing of assets andcomponents;

an ability to dynamically share risk, margin, equity and insuranceacross multiple legal entities in a supply chain; and/or

an ability to dynamically change contractual agreements with suppliersduring the New Product Development (“NPD”), New Product Introduction(“NPI”), New Services Introduction (“NSI”) phases of a product orservice lifecycle, limiting cash flow consequences (e.g., strandedinventory and cash-to-cash inversion).

At S1210, a contractual relationship may be established between supplychain entities in connection with an industrial asset. For example, amanufacturer and customer might enter into an agreement. At S1220, thesystem may monitor a secure, distributed transaction ledger to identifypost-delivery events associated with the industrial asset (e.g., thatthe asset was delivered, that the asset as installed, that the asset wasused). At S1230, it is determined if such an event was detected. If apost-delivery event was not detected at S2130, the system may continueto monitor the ledger at S1220. If a post-delivery event was detected atS1230 (e.g., the event occurred and was recorded in the transactionledger), the system may arrange for a transfer of funds between thesupply chain entities in accordance with the established contract atS1240. The system may then continue to monitor the ledger at S1220(e.g., to see if further events occur).

FIG. 13 is contractual agreement display 1300 in accordance with someembodiments. The display 1300 includes a graphical representation 1310of a supply chain contract definition interface. The interface may allowfor the definition of parties (e.g., via drop-down menus 1320), contactterms regarding payment events (e.g., selectable via computer mousepointer 1330), payment details, etc. The display 1300 may furtherinclude a user selectable icon 1340 that allows the contract details tobe uploaded (e.g., to a secure, distributed transaction ledger) whencompeted.

Thus, embodiments may enable a decentralized verification andcorresponding remittance to a supplier based upon the date of receipt ofgoods or services, the date of assembly, deployment, commissioning,and/or use. This decentralized verification and remittance may then beused to securitize the payment stream of pay-on-use contractualarrangements, enabling an alignment of the physical and information flowof material and services through a supply chain with the correspondingfinancial flow of that supply chain.

Embodiments may be associated with any type of distributed transactionledger having a de-centralized consensus-based network that supportssmart contracts, digital assets, record repositories, and/orcryptographic security. For example, FIG. 14 is a distributedtransaction ledger reference architecture 1400 according to someembodiments. The architecture 1400 includes ledger services and an eventstream 1410 that may contain network security service information (e.g.,from a supply chain platform). Membership services 1420 (e.g., includingregistration, identity managements, and/or an auditability process) maymanage identity, privacy, and confidentially for membership 1450 for thenetwork security service. Blockchain services 1430 (e.g., including aconsensus manager, Peer-to-Peer (“P2P”) protocol, a distributedtransaction ledger, and/or ledger storage) may manage the distributedtransaction ledger through a P2P protocol built on HTTP to maintain asingle state that is replicated at many nodes to support blockchains1460 and transactions 1470. Chaincode services 1440 (e.g., securecontainer and/or a secure registry associated with a smart contract) mayhelp compartmentalize smart contract (or chaincode 1480) execution onvalidating nodes. Note that the environment may be a “locked down” andsecured container with a set of signed base images that contain a secureOS and programming languages. Finally, APIs, Software Development Kits(“SDKs”), and/or a Command Line Interface (“CLI”) may be utilized tosupport a network security service via the reference architecture 1400.

Thus, some embodiments described herein may use blockchain technology toprovide for an independent verification of material position and/orservice disposition. Moreover, embodiments may create contractualagreements with payment remittance based upon more complexmaterial/service states and provide a more accurate and consistentmaterial flow through a supply chain. Some advantages of embodimentsdescribed herein include: an external funding of a supply chain;deferment of cash-to-cash cycle based on Accounts Receivable(“AR”)/Accounts Payable (“AP”) reversal; predictable flows of funds(limiting opportunity for fraud); limited NPI cash consequences (e.g.,stranded inventory); a securitization and service plans; independentverification and validation of product performance tied to supplierquality; financial risk sharing across an extended supply chain;operational risk sharing across extended supply chain (e.g., resourceallocation), etc.

The following illustrates various additional embodiments of theinvention. These do not constitute a definition of all possibleembodiments, and those skilled in the art will understand that thepresent invention is applicable to many other embodiments. Further,although the following embodiments are briefly described for clarity,those skilled in the art will understand how to make any changes, ifnecessary, to the above-described apparatus and methods to accommodatethese and other embodiments and applications.

Note that embodiments described herein might be associated with manydifferent types of supply chains and/or business entities. For example,some embodiments may be associated with additive manufacturing inaccordance with some embodiments. In such cases, information associatedwith at least a portion of a supply chain may be retrieved from anadditive manufacturing platform database. According to some embodiments,the additive manufacturing platform utilizes an additive manufacturingprinter associated with three-dimensional printing. In this case, theinformation about the supply chain might be associated with a printermodel, a resolution, a powder, a deadline, material specifications,process conditions, etc. As used herein, the phrase “additivemanufacturing” may refer to various types of three-dimensional printing,including, for example, those described in the American Society forTesting and Materials (“ASTM”) group “ASTM F42—Additive Manufacturing”standards. These include vat photopolymerisation (using a vat of liquidphotopolymer resin), material jetting (where material is jetted onto abuild platform), binder jetting (e.g., using a powder based material anda binder), material extrusion such as Fuse Deposition Modelling (“FDM”).powder bed fusion (e.g., Direct Metal Laser Sintering (“DMLS”), ElectronBeam Melting (“EBM”), etc.), a sheet lamination (including UltrasonicAdditive Manufacturing (“UAM”) and Laminated Object Manufacturing(“LOM”)), and Directed Energy Deposition (“DED”). Payment obligationsmay then be based on events associated with item printing, item use,etc.

Note that the processes described herein might be applicable in othersupply chain environments. For example, the supply chain might beassociated with automobile manufacturing, consumer electronics (e.g.,smartphones, tablet computers, and the like), electric power generation,etc. As another example, a producer of intellectual property (e.g.,Computer Aided Design (“CAD”) files describing a product, movies, songs,television shows, etc.) might record post-deployments event informationvia a secure, distributed transaction ledger. A distributor of suchintellectual property might then access the ledger to arrange for supplychain payments as appropriate.

Although specific hardware and data configurations have been describedherein, note that any number of other configurations may be provided inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention (e.g., some of theinformation described herein may be combined or stored in externalsystems). Moreover, although embodiments have been described withrespect to transaction information processing system, note thatembodiments might be associated with other types of processing systemsin general. Similarly, the displays shown and described herein areprovided only as examples, and other types of displays and displaydevices may support any of the embodiments. For example, FIG. 15illustrates a tablet computer 1500 with a display 1510 that mightutilize an interactive graphical user interface. The display 1510 mightcomprise a graphical overview of the devices associated with a supplychain and/or the products that are being exchanged. Selection of anelement on the display 1510 might result in further information aboutthat element being presented 1520 (e.g., a current status of anindustrial asset).

The present invention has been described in terms of several embodimentssolely for the purpose of illustration. Persons skilled in the art willrecognize from this description that the invention is not limited to theembodiments described, but may be practiced with modifications andalterations limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

1. A system to facilitate transaction processing associated with anindustrial asset supply chain having a first entity and a second entity,comprising: a first entity database storing electronic records includinginformation associated with pre-delivery information about theindustrial asset; a first entity communication port to exchangeinformation via a distributed computer system; a first entity computerprocessor coupled to the first entity database and the first entitycommunication port and adapted to: retrieve from the first entitydatabase the information associated with the pre-delivery data about theindustrial asset, and record pre-delivery data about the industrialasset via a secure, distributed transaction ledger; a second entitydatabase storing electronic records including information associatedwith a post-delivery event involving the industrial asset; a secondentity communication port to exchange information via the distributedcomputer system; and a second entity computer processor coupled to thesecond entity database and the second entity communication port andadapted to: retrieve from the second entity database the informationassociated with the post-delivery event involving the industrial asset,and record post-delivery event data about the industrial asset via thesecure, distributed transaction ledger.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the secure, distributed transaction ledger comprises blockchaintechnology.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the blockchain ledger is:(i) controlled by a single, centralized entity, or (ii) controlled bymultiple, distributed entities.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein thesupply chain is associated with at least one of: (i) a local supplychain, (ii) an international supply chain, and (iii) a global supplychain.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first entity is associatedwith at least one of: (i) a component supplier, (ii) a manufacturer ofthe industrial asset, and (iii) a distributor.
 6. The system of claim 5,wherein the second entity is associated with at least one of: (i) adelivery entity, (ii) an installer entity, (iii) a customer, and (iv) auser of the industrial asset.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein thepost-delivery event is associated with an indication that at least oneof: (i) the industrial asset has been delivered, (ii) the industrialasset has been installed, (iii) the industrial asset is workingproperly, and (iv) the industrial asset has been used.
 8. The system ofclaim 1, wherein information recorded in the secure, distributedtransaction ledger is associated with at least one of: (i) qualityinformation, (ii) delivery information, (iii) mission criticalinformation, (iv) physical location data, (v) product qualityinformation, (vi) material quality information, (vii) inspectioninformation, (viii) a price of a good, (ix) a price of a service, (x)contractual commitment data, (xi) delivery conditions, (xii) shippinginformation, and (xiii) a smart contract.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein the industrial asset is associated with at least one of: (i) anengine, (ii) an aircraft, (iii) a locomotive, (iv) power generation, (v)a wind turbine, (vi) a medical device, (vii) farming equipment, (viii)an autonomous vehicle, (ix) additive manufacturing, and (x) an unmannedaerial vehicle.
 10. The system of claim 1, further comprising: atransaction prediction and/or compilation platform associated with atleast one of the first and second entities.
 11. A computer-implementedmethod to facilitate transaction processing associated with anindustrial asset supply chain having a first entity and a second entity,comprising: retrieving, by a first entity computer processor from afirst entity database, electronic records including informationassociated with pre-delivery data about the industrial asset; recording,by the first entity computer processor, pre-delivery data about theindustrial asset via a secure, distributed transaction ledger;retrieving, by a second entity computer processor from a second entitydatabase, electronic records including information associated with apost-delivery event involving the industrial asset; and recording, bythe second entity computer processor, post-delivery event data about theindustrial asset via the secure, distributed transaction ledger.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the secure, distributed transaction ledgercomprises blockchain technology.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein theblockchain ledger is: (i) controlled by a single, centralized entity, or(ii) controlled by multiple, distributed entities.
 14. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the supply chain is associated with at least one of:(i) a local supply chain, (ii) an international supply chain, and (iii)a global supply chain.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the firstentity is associated with at least one of: (i) a component supplier,(ii) a manufacturer of the industrial asset, and (iii) a distributor.16. The method of claim 15, wherein the second entity is associated withat least one of: (i) a delivery entity, (ii) an installer entity, (iii)a customer, and (iv) a user of the industrial asset.
 17. Anon-transitory, computer-readable medium storing instructions that, whenexecuted by a computer processor, causes the computer processor toperform a method to facilitate transaction processing associated with anindustrial asset supply chain having a first entity and a second entity,the method comprising: retrieving, by a first entity computer processorfrom a first entity database, electronic records including informationassociated with pre-delivery data about the industrial asset; recording,by the first entity computer processor, pre-delivery data about theindustrial asset via a secure, distributed transaction ledger;retrieving, by a second entity computer processor from a second entitydatabase, electronic records including information associated with apost-delivery event involving the industrial asset; and recording, bythe second entity computer processor, post-delivery event data about theindustrial asset via the secure, distributed transaction ledger.
 18. Themedium of claim 17, wherein the post-delivery event is associated withan indication that at least one of: (i) the industrial asset has beendelivered, (ii) the industrial asset has been installed, (iii) theindustrial asset is working properly, and (iv) the industrial asset hasbeen used.
 19. The medium of claim 17, wherein information recorded inthe secure, distributed transaction ledger is associated with at leastone of: (i) quality information, (ii) delivery information, (iii)mission critical information, (iv) physical location data, (v) productquality information, (vi) material quality information, (vii) inspectioninformation, (viii) a price of a good, (ix) a price of a service, (x)contractual commitment data, (xi) delivery conditions, (xii) shippinginformation, and (xiii) a smart contract.
 20. The medium of claim 17,wherein the industrial asset is associated with at least one of: (i) anengine, (ii) an aircraft, (iii) a locomotive, (iv) power generation, (v)a wind turbine, (vi) a medical device, (vii) farming equipment, (viii)an autonomous vehicle, (ix) additive manufacturing, and (x) an unmannedaerial vehicle.